Countermeasures : 1. Build your own audience through videos, podcasts, social media 17:53 2. Go outbound: paid advertising, direct marketing 18:49 3. Spread your bets: develop a mix of reach channels 20:04 4. Own your relationships : convert your audience to an e-mail database through coupon club, newsletter 21:02 Very insightful, thanks Mike!
As an "outbound" marketer I've been reading this as eventually Google will be like Amazon and I'll only be a 1P seller on Google Shopping and Google search. I'll be selling product within a "walled garden" until I make a sale and can nurture that buyer via email and sms after conversion.
@@MikeGastindigital slaves? In 2008 the US government deployed the unconventional warfare manual and that perpetually puts you in a state of constitutional war. You let your country go to war with an emotion. That means it's at war forever. That means you're closer to martial law than you are to what you used to have before the twin towers fell
Google knows exactly what made them great, how they need to change at every step along the way and they’ve got the analytics. They know exactly what they’re doing.
@@madtho They know what they're doing for their revenue which is only going up. But for the user, they've lost their focus and aren't paying attention to what the users need. The latest search results are not useful, sometimes completely not relevant. This is not good for users. But of course, there are way more ads so their revenue is up. If you own Google stock, you're good!
This is one of the best videos on this topic I've seen. I'm in SEO and know what's coming. Thank you for not giving me the rosey spin and instead giving me actionable ways to take back control.
This doesn't apply to *** LOCAL *** SEO. Local SEO industries like automotive, medical, home services, salons/spas, roofing/flooring/countertops/renovation contractors, etc. still benefit tremendously from SEO. We're busier than ever. Our clients are seeing huge spikes in traffic because we specialize in getting them to dominate in the local three pack and with the highest overall combination of star rating and quantity of reviews (while being 100% compliant, most RM solutions including HighLevel review gen snapshots are not compliant and can get you in a lot of trouble). You are right though. Non-local serving businesses it's getting harder to be visible with just SEO alone.
We are in local SEO but we can't in the snack pack as per Google policy. The only option we have is the option to rank our websites in the top 5. But Google is not there accurately.
Gemini will get that too. Look how it works now, it selects the top 5 businesses off Google Maps with the highest star ratings. Bad luck if Google won't verify your virtual address. You will be nowhere! Backyard service businesses will disappear.
@jeffciervo3496 I've seen as many as 4 violations in a single review request. Yelp, Google, TCPA and the FTC. This is one of the major problems with HL. This reseller model requires no actual professional expertise. Anyone can claim they are a marketing expert. nearly all of them are not actual subject matter experts in RM yet they blindly sling it either knowing they aren't compliant and don't care or have no clue. It's one of many of our competitive advantages. And HL hacks are doing us a favor in a way because there is no shortage of failed, embarrassing implementations and we look like heros coming in and cleaning up the mess.
100%! Local search is alive and well. I own a restaurant and bar SEO company which is doing amazingly well. Remember we still have to feed these AI's the info they need to regurgitate.
Great take on the current SEO landscape. And am so impressed by the lack of cuts in your video, you know what you want to say and you say it, vs. an edit every 3 seconds like I see on so many TH-cam videos. Refreshing.
Thanks, Lance. I’d be curious to know what your thoughts are on this. How do you see the future of SEO and what do you think the best options are for marketers going forward?
Thanks Mike. No wonder my website isn't getting any traffic. Good thing I've begun to incorporate email marketing and paid ads into my marketing strategy.
This has been one of the most eye-opening videos I’ve seen in a very long time. I’ve been very concerned with issue of AI reducing, if not totally eliminating website traffic from search engines, specifically from Google searches. But it’s also something I’ve suffered ridicule about from the few people I’ve discussed this with. As for me, I’ve ALWAYS believed in outbound marketing as the most secure way to build a base of business (maybe because I started business marketing in the late 1970s long before the Internet, Google, et al). Like you, I much prefer to control my own destiny. Thanks for the video, and I look forward to seeing more from you.
Thanks, Kenneth-very encouraging to hear from you. It's likely that reality will fall somewhere between my take and those who say, "It's not the end, it's just going to be different". Regardless, having control, spreading bets, and doing more outbound/direct marketing can only help. As you know, that's just good business-always has been. ;)
Makes sense now why TH-cam lowered the monetization requirements. With AI your content is your donation to their content. I think after google and AI run roughshod on creators for a few years the future of the internet involves a new law about your freedom to opt your newly uploaded content out of AI involvement, plus heavy regulation to make sure companies are abiding by that law. Letting somebody else's AI learn from material you made but that you didn't voluntarily add to its curriculum is hardly distinguishable from stealing.
@@MikeGastin Oh they'll make a mess of it in a way that coincidentally lines their pockets before they get it more than half right. Ne'er an opportunity missed.
Thanks for this breakdown. It should be clear, but I could not see it before. Your video is sobering and indeed it looks like they are phasing out their dependency on websites. Similar to how Amazon introduced Amazon Basics to compete with sellers.
someone else would've eventually, and this is also the lesson to be learned from AI. If its easy for you it will be easy for everyone, leaving you lost in the crowd.
Good hypothesis. However, Google earns more than 80% of its revenue from ads, mainly display ads and search ads. If they undermine publishers or online brands as you suggest, they would be shooting themselves in the foot for two reasons: 1. Online businesses would have less capital to invest in Google ads, and 2. There would be fewer websites available to showcase their display ads.
Hit the nail on the head. This is a good video but as a Software Engineer myself, it just doesn’t make fiscal sense for Google to push their AI over paid ads. Plus there are always boomers who will never grasp AI and prefer the SERPs.
Fair enough. However, you have to ask what the future business landscape will look like. We are seeing more and more pressure being put on the private (small) businesses, meaning over time they become less of a factor in the economy. Google can make billions by favoring and excepting large corporations while killing off the private businesses. For the little guy, SEO is everything; a way to punch above your weight. But, soon, no one needs the little guy's content. At the same time, large brands and corps have whole villages of marketing people covering all the bases and billions in cash to work with. Google will be just fine if they favor the giants awhile squeezing out the privates.
@@MikeGastin It might be a good thing. We have too many “little guys” who think they are experts, pushing out mediocre content. We need experts to reclaim the market a little in my opinion. You make some great points though.
The rule content is King won’t change. However ai will be the content. We have a few years yet but don’t kid yourself. Google will find other ways to make money.
Traditional SEO might be dead but not the actual search and find game, people still look for stuff and we need to keep playing the game. SEO isn't going anywhere, its just the definition and working process is changing over the time.
Yes, agree, still there will be a lot of businesses, like insurance products. But many thanks about this video! It is clear, that there will no only blacks or whites. It is art of using your intellectual power to use right things in right place.
Well let's hope u got a fat AdWords budget or be premium Partner with perplexity cuz unless you're saving someone's life people won't give a shit at all 70% clicking on whatever is first place not knowing the difference between organic and paid
Great insights to SEO. Makes sense. Example: LinkedIn’ algo doesn’t like when we post links to take people off LI, right. So if you’re savvy you’ve looked into this to find how to best build your community to engage with your content on the platform. Same as ur idea with Google - they want to keep people on their platform…. so we need to understand if people go to G to find a service product (not just knowledge) how will google serve this search? Knowledge (correct or not) AI google can serve and never show a website, product, or service..but what about those searching G for products and services….?
I agree. There are all sorts of information seeking behaviors beyond searching for an answer to a question. Content still matters. Therefore SEO still matters.
Take this into account: when Google is presenting content to visitors right before their eyes from their own AI engines, where does they get income from? Google Ads is and will stay a cash cow for them. Companies advertising on Google are selling their products and services which are individual things that cannot be replaced by Google. Google learns also from new content that is published by real people. You have a point for pure educational, research, culture, artistic and similar topics. AI is never going away. And like many people in the comments are saying, local business who are selling hard products will still get benefits from SEO. I will not give up my job as an SEO expert soon.
Hi Mike, great video! Would you advise me to learn SEO and email marketing? I'm looking to move more into digital marketing. I’m currently working in PR (in-house). The press releases I write for the company I work for bring a lot of traffic to the website, so that’s where my interest in SEO started.
Absolutely, especially email marketing. Email has been around forever and it still works. You have a direct line with your audience/customers, which is really great.
@@MikeGastin 👍 It’s working “OK” but not near as good as it used to back in the 80s and 90s. People have become numb to most communication. The product definitely needs to have margin. Back in the 80s and 90s it was for promoting my Magic Show which ranged from two $200-$500 per gig. The price of postage per card was about $.20.
@@FollowMagicBrad people have been forced to become numb to the massive over-communication of our times. Maybe we need "still small voice marketing". :)
Interesting video but SEO has always been a moveable feast and the important consideration has always been to stay on top of it and adapting as best you can to the algorithm. Interesting you refer to old school marketing eg TV, Radio (still too expensive and not an option for most) and Print, which again is expensive, inefficient and very time consuming. Social Media marketing is essential because that's where people are and simultaneously builds your brand. Google AI might be able to answer questions which is Stage 1, but Google will need Stage 2 which is the revenue from advertiser listings which leads to final Stage 3 which the user selecting the point of contact to implement the solution. eg User Stage 1 asks 'what is the best exterior paint and where can i buy it?', Stage 2 question answered with associated list of providers, Stage 3 user selects ad or organic listing.
You're raising an important point. When someone is searching for a specific product, like a new vinyl record, stores offering that item will still benefit from the pragmatic aspects of SEO. In these cases, where the user knows exactly what they want, SEO remains highly relevant. However, in situations where a user is simply looking for information, like finding out who sang the "SEO is dead" song, Google often provides the answer directly, bypassing the need to drive traffic to the content creator’s website or service. This shift highlights SEO's evolving role depending on the search intent.
@@reneasmussendk probably in numerous ways - but it will. That super-expensive wedding photo-shoot at sunset on the beach? Disappearing fast. AI enhancing amateur photos will also be a few levels higher in a few months. Startups are replacing business headshot photographers with apps and background image editing services (manual or automated/AI). Google is a big player there, too (see AI features in Pixel smartphones). Some will scream "but, but, the quality!!!?!". They did when we switched to digital photography, they did at Midjourney Version 2... same song. It never stopped anything, just distracted from finding solutions or pivoting.
Interesting insight. Thanks for sharing. It seems this would impact bloggers and article-related content more than small companies offering business services
I luckily do local SEO, haven't seen any Gemini responses on SERPs for local SEO yet. But it's coming, no question. Never good to rely on just 1 channel. I've worked for a company that relied on FB ads and when it stopped working for them they suffered hard. At that point it was too late to catch up with organic. Great video and great advice!!
Mike Gastin's perspective on the death of SEO and the rise of AI in search is a bold statement, but it certainly aligns with the evolving digital landscape. While traditional SEO tactics still hold some weight, it's clear that focusing on building a strong brand, direct audience engagement, and diversified marketing strategies is becoming increasingly crucial. I'm eager to see how these strategies evolve and impact businesses in the coming years. Has anyone else experienced challenges adapting to this new AI-driven marketing environment?
mike is right, control your product. 2009-2014 seo was easy in my day with all that fun black/gray hat stuff... today it's very difficult. soon as the big G dominated it's "above the fold" with their own content, filler sites that are not monetized (Wikipedia, etc) and links to only big corporations for seeming easy to rank for general/national keywords - i saw the writing on the wall. even PPC is more challenging for serps as CPC is way more than it used to due to competition. CPM maybe better, but have not tested that in years.
Hey, thanks! RE: set up. I shoot with a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K and a Sigma Art zoom (I forget the range and am not in my studio rn). I shoot BRAW and then do correction in DaVinci Resolve. I've got one larger key light with a soft box. It sits off to my left a bit, but I keep it close so the shardows aren't too dramatic. It's nothing too special. I have sound dampening blankets in front of me and some ceiling panels, however, I'm not thrilled with my room sound, yet. My mic, which you can probably guess, is a Sure SM7B. I run that through a Motu M4 (it's about three years old; newer version out now). Hope that helps.
Wow, Mike! This video really opened my eyes. I had no idea that Google is shifting so much power away from businesses that rely on SEO. The part about how AI can answer questions directly on the search page instead of sending people to our websites is wild! I also learned that we need to take back control and build our own audiences instead of relying on Google to send traffic our way. Plus, owning our email lists so we can talk directly to our customers is a game changer. Thanks for sharing these insights! Can't wait to follow your advice and adapt!
Hi MIke, I don't like newsletters, but your content is so inspiring that I'll sign up right away! The lighting is just perfect, is that natural light or artificial and what watts and distance are the lights?
Thanks, Bruno. Artificial light, mostly. I forget the specifications-I've had it for years. It's got a nice diffuser on it and is only two or three feet from my face.
Thank you for this piece of excellence and friendliness. The relief I am feeling that I do not need to care about keywords and H1, H2 and all these crazy annoying and mind numbing SEO complications anymore. Going back to writing as I did in the early 20ies. And who wants to read will somehow be washed up at my shore. Maybe because I sent them a postcard first.
That’s great. I’d definitely think about building a funnel where you build an audience on social media, convert people to an email list, then polish out your writing to your list, either directly in the email or by sharing a link to your site. It’s a slow build but if you stick with it you’ll have a nice group of loyal readers that you can reach any time.
And let's be honest. Good, bad or ugly, It saves time. I don't have to scroll through 10 different websites and read 4 different blog articles to get the information I'm looking for, and if I want to go a little deeper, or get more information, there's 9 ways you can go from there. Using social media, different AI modules and browsers. Thank you for sharing your opinion. It's the inevitable truth. I come from a backgournd of developing websites and doing advertising and marketing since the early nineties, before you could even build your own website and do your own blog and create your own seo. Excellent video.
I mean... mind-blowing! the scary fact is that what you are saying is actually making a lot of sense! Question: what will happen to those of us who live in countries that google has sanctions against? I live in Iran and Gemini doesn't pop up on SERP yet, it occasionally happens if we use a VPN!
This video gave me a lot to consider moving forward as a newbie. Having spent most of the past year trying to crack the SEO algorithm it is both a relief and a a swift kick to the bean bag, if you know what I mean. I attended some classes online and use Google search several times a day, every day and as I watched this video the lightbulb lite up. I have been overlooking this for weeks now. Kind of makes me feel a bit incompetent in many ways. I see you put this video out in early August and it is or pretty much has unfolded like you outlined, AI has taken over the top part or the results page on almost every search I make. You have gotten my undivided attention as I move forward and I am looking forward to diving into your content to see what other hidden nuggets you have uncovered that may help me attain my goals. Thanks for the great content and I look forward to more great days ahead.
Making the best guess I can. I'm not always going to be right or get everything 100%. However, it's troubling to see how this is unfolding. Like you, I'm seeing Google AI answers in 99% of my searches. All the best!
You know, I just subscribed to you because I like what you have to say, and the fact that you're not trying to sell anything and you're just giving your honest, educated opinion, which I think is very valuable and I appreciate you. And look forward to more content from you.
I don’t thinks their ads will be impacted. As long as they get traffic (people searching) they can sell ads. I bet most people will just keep using Google for search. However, a big chunk of websites will be buried because AI will provide all the answers to searchers’ questions.
The proper way to use AI for SEO is to use it as a multitool and not a replacement. My written-content takes LONGER to create now with AI than it did before without it, but it's razor-sharp focused on the target audience now, exploits market gaps more accurately, and results in copy thats so much more well written by me, with the ASSISTANCE of AI.
I'm not quite as gloomy on the AI vs SEO front. There are some hard limits to the very core of how LLM AI works that cannot be fixed by a version upgrade. Google has found this itself already, hence the major pullback from suggesting people eat a rock a day at the top of their SERPs, but I 1,000% agree that now more than ever, it is important to diversify your diutal marketing and learn to get traffic sources from outside the Google ecosystem. Doesn't change the fact that this is an excellent video, and it just earned itself a new subscriber.
So I’m just looking for some information. I have paid a web designer to design a website. It has the SEO search optimisation. So the problem is I’m doing Paving concreting and landscaping for an example. My Paving suburbs are Christies Beach. If I type in Paving Christies Beach we are number one on the first page but if I’m located in Christies Beach which I am type in Paving near me we don’t show. I guess I just want to know why we’re not getting the surrounding suburbs.
100%. The fact is, although our current way of doing it is “dying” SEO will live on in new and exciting ways. Just make sure you’re learning other aspects of marketing while you’re at it. ;)
Excellent content. Love everything about delivery. Thank you for sharing your decades of experience. I did think that AI does need us because AI is trained on our content and future content.
Mike, good advice and I agree with what you are saying with email still carries the issue of Google deciding who sees your content. Promotions tab? Spam folder? Deliverability? Etc I'm kinda thinking snail mail and phone will become prime assets once again. If not for all them at least your top 20% of customers.
Very good video. I was obsessed about SEO and AI but you changed my mind!!! Google doesn't need use anymore. I would love your thoughts about affiliate marketing if it also dead or not?
I'm not too sure about affiliate. I suspect that will be around for a while longer because as long as you have an audience there will be other companies that will want access to your audience and will be happy to share some profit with you. And, even though SEO is going to drastically change, don't totally give up on it yet. It remains to be seen how all these changes roll out and affect us. Just don't put all your eggs in the Google SEO basket and you'll be fine. ;)
Thank you. I am very new to this. What about something like recipes? When I search it now, it still just shows many bloggers recipes. Can AI take over?
Great question! The recipe space is so crowded with food sites. And, they all bombard you with too many ads, pop ups, etc. It's miserable. I don't know where Google will take that. I can see users inputting their ingredients and AI giving them options of dishes they can make. If I was doing a food biz, I'd rather go to TH-cam and make vids on recipes, food prep, and so on. Much better place to build that kind of audience.
I have a question, Mike!❓You mentioned that AI won't need us, bloggers and creators, anymore. That Ai can answer all questions by scrapping content, and give it to users. But what will happen with LLM systems, when there wouldn't be anyone who producing the content? What will happen when blogging industry will be destroyed and not being updated? When they start to learn their AIs on low-quality and old content? If Google is killing the industry, from where they will be getting all the information (content) to feed their AI during learning? What will happen when they will get a bunch of low quality articles from Torbes, Medit, or IndiaTimes or else to feed their AI? Won't the LLMs degradate after some time?
I appreciate your question. I wonder, similarly, what happens when the LLMs are learning from their own content. None of this is 100% clear and I don't assume that I'm even close to 100% correct in my vid. I think I am spot on with the trend that I call out. The real question is, to what degree will this all play out? Fully or not much?
I would guess that AI will have more and more hallucinations where it creates new content based on it's own content and it get's less and less accurate. I'm sure there will be safeguards put in place to help with this but it might be hard to get it under control when that happens too much.
@@MikeGastin Google now has enough sites for each niche in the world. Since its inception, Google has classified sites using community-driven portals like the earlier DMOZ directory, then Wikipedia, etc. Recently, Google partnered with Reddit. So, Google gets first-hand information from the Internet and real-users. That's how it builds its database. Same thing for SearchGPT; they began partnering with leading publishers (for testing purposes). This is how they develop their LLM and try to provide them accurate and updated information. Definitely, users are obsessed with Google-sponsored ads when they are trying to search for simple answers. Google gets millions of queries each day which never been found earlier. For those queries, Google has now started Semantic Search results, so when a matching keyword is not found in the database, it returns the results based on the Context.
Thank you so much for this incredibly informative video on SEO! Your explanations were clear, concise, and packed with valuable insights. I've learned a lot, and I can't wait to apply these strategies to improve my website's visibility. Keep up the fantastic work-your content is making a real difference!
Gemini's answer at the top of search will reduce scrolling, which means less people will see Google ads. How is Google reconciling or justifying this loss in revenue by integrating AI?
So I’m just looking for some information. I have paid a web designer to design a website. It has the SEO search optimisation. So the problem is I’m doing Paving concreting and landscaping for an example. My Paving suburbs are Christies Beach. If I type in Paving Christies Beach we are number one on the first page but if I’m located in Christies Beach which I am type in Paving near me we don’t show.
If you post these types of questions on online forums you will get mid-level answers from SEO's that hyperfocus on one aspect. Mine would be, "you need location service pages covering content on surrounding suburbs." Without being in your project itself, its a bit of a guess what the issue is, could be a myriad of the ways you set up your GBP, Search Console, or simply your competitors have a wayyyy better presence on the subject on their site. Last, googing yourself is nice when you get a positive result, but doesn't mean anything. Google regularly split tests results to see what people like better (click, time to return to the same search and bounce back, etc). You need to be looking at stats for rankings from Search Console and maybe some third party SEO tools. OR, have an SEO work on it
They'll be ok and even do well if they focus on marketing and advertising for local business. Make sure your local Google listing is up to date. Collab with related but non-competing businesses. Like if you're in cabinetry, link up with local interior decorators and designers. Or home stores. Be consistent with your newsletters. Word of mouth is great for the service industries. SEO will still work for people who know what they want and search for it. Stay consistent on your social posts, blogs on your website, etc, so you turn up in the searches as relevant.
Local search is still good. All in all dont put your eggs in one basket. I still see strong results with SEO optimised content that matches intent. Running a paid ad funnnel to supplement the baseline SEO is necessary. Will be interesting to see where we're at in 5-10 years time
As long as there are search engines, content will have to be "optimized" to best fit the way the SE satisfies the users query. Hence SEO will never die.
Don't agree, but that's okay. SEO become irrelevant when AI can provide most answers. We don't go to search engines to find websites anymore. We go to get answers. Google is finding new ways via AI to provide answers.
@@MikeGastin I guess AI is plucking info right out of thin air. If I ask Chat>>> to tell me where the best tacos are near me, it's going to list off taco places based on reviews that have been compiled on various sites. If I ask for the menu, its going to send me to that places website. AI will constantly have to hoover up information and make decisions about its authenticity and it's value vs the prompt. That "hoovering" will be determined by SEO.
It seems from what I am hearing that local search is still doing fine. To be honest, I don't have much insight into local and Google's new business practices. Can you share anything?
Great video Mike. But aren’t we taking it to extreme? I mean if I’m a startup company how can the AI write about the company? The chicken and the egg scenario. Besides many people like to see a variety of options presented in the serps the same way when you go to restaurant. Also some industries I don’t want an AI provide me the answer for example medical and legal advice etc. Lastly, AI relies on already existing information. If humans stop researching and writing then how can the AI provide the up to date answers. What is your opinion on this?
Thanks. To your question(s), yes, I'm taking it to an extreme. And, AI writing about your startup-well that question has an embedded assumption: that anyone cares about your startup or that Google cares to promote it. My argument isn't that you won't be allowed to write about your start up. You can and will continue to. And, no one will stop you from publishing to your website about your start up. (Unless you fall afoul of the state, an increasingly difficult issue that needs to be address if we are to enjoy free speech.) But the big issue for my argument is that even if you write about it, NO ONE will ever see your post. Even if someone does a search on your company, AI will pull what it wants to construct its own answer and the link to your site will likely be buried. Lastly, if you tell your employee to do a write up on your start up, it's likely that he or she will turn to AI to help write the piece. So, in the end you have a sort of hybrid piece of content generated by AI, edited and published by a human. Not sure the impact of that that over time, but I can guarantee that your write up will be so uninteresting and vanilla that it won't cut through the noise and gain you much in the way of attention. Just my opinion, of course. ;)
Static website content is not needed anymore for generic and general information. Think of it like this: Websites are the yellow phonebook pages that became 100% obsolete when the internet was born. Do you want to keep printing them? Good luck.
So, what's next? Just AI results? If so, good luck. I agree, btw, with your analogy. Justy wondering what you think businesses should be doing about it. ;)
User centric content (my foot - by Google) In my niche backlinks are ranking buddy. They barely have 200 words of content. Even not the original one. Websites are ranking which redirects to dating sites. Urls are ranking show 404 when opened.
Maybe not. However, if you look at the way Google is treating its SERP. I can see product sellers being put in a position to pay-to-play if they want their product showing up at the top, or as part of Google's "store" results. Maybe AI isn't an issue in your scenario, but I still think Google is putting a nail in the organic coffin. But, that's just my take. I'm often wrong. ;)
Love the organic, unedited and calm approach. Please keep it that way!
Thanks, it’s good to know. I plan to. I might do a more edited vid from time to time, but this is the style I’m sticking with.
Countermeasures :
1. Build your own audience through videos, podcasts, social media 17:53
2. Go outbound: paid advertising, direct marketing 18:49
3. Spread your bets: develop a mix of reach channels 20:04
4. Own your relationships : convert your audience to an e-mail database through coupon club, newsletter 21:02
Very insightful, thanks Mike!
Thank you!
As an "outbound" marketer I've been reading this as eventually Google will be like Amazon and I'll only be a 1P seller on Google Shopping and Google search. I'll be selling product within a "walled garden" until I make a sale and can nurture that buyer via email and sms after conversion.
Google forgot what made them great
They're so massive ... I wonder at what point we're all just digital slaves.
Pumping the shittiest combination of websites to the top forcing us to go to Reddit ultimately forcing the deployment of AI search? Thanks Google.
@@MikeGastindigital slaves? In 2008 the US government deployed the unconventional warfare manual and that perpetually puts you in a state of constitutional war. You let your country go to war with an emotion. That means it's at war forever. That means you're closer to martial law than you are to what you used to have before the twin towers fell
Google knows exactly what made them great, how they need to change at every step along the way and they’ve got the analytics. They know exactly what they’re doing.
@@madtho They know what they're doing for their revenue which is only going up. But for the user, they've lost their focus and aren't paying attention to what the users need. The latest search results are not useful, sometimes completely not relevant. This is not good for users. But of course, there are way more ads so their revenue is up. If you own Google stock, you're good!
This is one of the best videos on this topic I've seen. I'm in SEO and know what's coming. Thank you for not giving me the rosey spin and instead giving me actionable ways to take back control.
Very kind-thank you!
I’ve heard seo was gonna die every 6 months for the last 12 years
Haha. Fair enough.
Exactly. It's good clickbait.
This doesn't apply to *** LOCAL *** SEO. Local SEO industries like automotive, medical, home services, salons/spas, roofing/flooring/countertops/renovation contractors, etc. still benefit tremendously from SEO. We're busier than ever. Our clients are seeing huge spikes in traffic because we specialize in getting them to dominate in the local three pack and with the highest overall combination of star rating and quantity of reviews (while being 100% compliant, most RM solutions including HighLevel review gen snapshots are not compliant and can get you in a lot of trouble). You are right though. Non-local serving businesses it's getting harder to be visible with just SEO alone.
We are in local SEO but we can't in the snack pack as per Google policy. The only option we have is the option to rank our websites in the top 5. But Google is not there accurately.
Gemini will get that too. Look how it works now, it selects the top 5 businesses off Google Maps with the highest star ratings. Bad luck if Google won't verify your virtual address. You will be nowhere! Backyard service businesses will disappear.
What do you mean by highlevel review gen snapshots being non compliant ?
@jeffciervo3496 I've seen as many as 4 violations in a single review request. Yelp, Google, TCPA and the FTC. This is one of the major problems with HL. This reseller model requires no actual professional expertise. Anyone can claim they are a marketing expert. nearly all of them are not actual subject matter experts in RM yet they blindly sling it either knowing they aren't compliant and don't care or have no clue. It's one of many of our competitive advantages. And HL hacks are doing us a favor in a way because there is no shortage of failed, embarrassing implementations and we look like heros coming in and cleaning up the mess.
100%! Local search is alive and well. I own a restaurant and bar SEO company which is doing amazingly well. Remember we still have to feed these AI's the info they need to regurgitate.
Great take on the current SEO landscape. And am so impressed by the lack of cuts in your video, you know what you want to say and you say it, vs. an edit every 3 seconds like I see on so many TH-cam videos. Refreshing.
Thanks, Barbara. Very kind. 🙏🏼
I admire people who can do that
Great content. I own a digital marketing agency and this topic comes up several times a week at our office.
Thanks, Lance. I’d be curious to know what your thoughts are on this. How do you see the future of SEO and what do you think the best options are for marketers going forward?
Thanks Mike. No wonder my website isn't getting any traffic. Good thing I've begun to incorporate email marketing and paid ads into my marketing strategy.
Bummer. Well, lots of other ways to grow an audience. Good luck.
This has been one of the most eye-opening videos I’ve seen in a very long time. I’ve been very concerned with issue of AI reducing, if not totally eliminating website traffic from search engines, specifically from Google searches. But it’s also something I’ve suffered ridicule about from the few people I’ve discussed this with.
As for me, I’ve ALWAYS believed in outbound marketing as the most secure way to build a base of business (maybe because I started business marketing in the late 1970s long before the Internet, Google, et al). Like you, I much prefer to control my own destiny.
Thanks for the video, and I look forward to seeing more from you.
Thanks, Kenneth-very encouraging to hear from you. It's likely that reality will fall somewhere between my take and those who say, "It's not the end, it's just going to be different". Regardless, having control, spreading bets, and doing more outbound/direct marketing can only help. As you know, that's just good business-always has been. ;)
Makes sense now why TH-cam lowered the monetization requirements. With AI your content is your donation to their content. I think after google and AI run roughshod on creators for a few years the future of the internet involves a new law about your freedom to opt your newly uploaded content out of AI involvement, plus heavy regulation to make sure companies are abiding by that law. Letting somebody else's AI learn from material you made but that you didn't voluntarily add to its curriculum is hardly distinguishable from stealing.
Very interesting. I do see government getting more involved. I'm not hopeful they'll do a good job protecting the "little guy" though. Thanks!
@@MikeGastin Oh they'll make a mess of it in a way that coincidentally lines their pockets before they get it more than half right. Ne'er an opportunity missed.
@@MikeGastin its difficult to tend the masses without the individual being overlooked
Thanks for this breakdown. It should be clear, but I could not see it before. Your video is sobering and indeed it looks like they are phasing out their dependency on websites. Similar to how Amazon introduced Amazon Basics to compete with sellers.
Yes, good analogy with Amazon Basics.
You putting this up for free is actually clutch - praise to you
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someone else would've eventually, and this is also the lesson to be learned from AI. If its easy for you it will be easy for everyone, leaving you lost in the crowd.
Good hypothesis. However, Google earns more than 80% of its revenue from ads, mainly display ads and search ads. If they undermine publishers or online brands as you suggest, they would be shooting themselves in the foot for two reasons: 1. Online businesses would have less capital to invest in Google ads, and 2. There would be fewer websites available to showcase their display ads.
Hit the nail on the head. This is a good video but as a Software Engineer myself, it just doesn’t make fiscal sense for Google to push their AI over paid ads. Plus there are always boomers who will never grasp AI and prefer the SERPs.
Fair enough. However, you have to ask what the future business landscape will look like. We are seeing more and more pressure being put on the private (small) businesses, meaning over time they become less of a factor in the economy. Google can make billions by favoring and excepting large corporations while killing off the private businesses. For the little guy, SEO is everything; a way to punch above your weight. But, soon, no one needs the little guy's content. At the same time, large brands and corps have whole villages of marketing people covering all the bases and billions in cash to work with. Google will be just fine if they favor the giants awhile squeezing out the privates.
@@MikeGastin It might be a good thing. We have too many “little guys” who think they are experts, pushing out mediocre content. We need experts to reclaim the market a little in my opinion. You make some great points though.
The rule content is King won’t change. However ai will be the content. We have a few years yet but don’t kid yourself. Google will find other ways to make money.
@@tomasbusse2410 what makes you qualified to say that?
Traditional SEO might be dead but not the actual search and find game, people still look for stuff and we need to keep playing the game. SEO isn't going anywhere, its just the definition and working process is changing over the time.
Time will tell. You may be right!
Yes, agree, still there will be a lot of businesses, like insurance products. But many thanks about this video! It is clear, that there will no only blacks or whites. It is art of using your intellectual power to use right things in right place.
Well let's hope u got a fat AdWords budget or be premium Partner with perplexity cuz unless you're saving someone's life people won't give a shit at all
70% clicking on whatever is first place not knowing the difference between organic and paid
Great insights to SEO. Makes sense. Example: LinkedIn’ algo doesn’t like when we post links to take people off LI, right. So if you’re savvy you’ve looked into this to find how to best build your community to engage with your content on the platform. Same as ur idea with Google - they want to keep people on their platform…. so we need to understand if people go to G to find a service product (not just knowledge) how will google serve this search? Knowledge (correct or not) AI google can serve and never show a website, product, or service..but what about those searching G for products and services….?
I agree. There are all sorts of information seeking behaviors beyond searching for an answer to a question. Content still matters. Therefore SEO still matters.
Take this into account: when Google is presenting content to visitors right before their eyes from their own AI engines, where does they get income from? Google Ads is and will stay a cash cow for them. Companies advertising on Google are selling their products and services which are individual things that cannot be replaced by Google. Google learns also from new content that is published by real people. You have a point for pure educational, research, culture, artistic and similar topics. AI is never going away. And like many people in the comments are saying, local business who are selling hard products will still get benefits from SEO. I will not give up my job as an SEO expert soon.
And ... Google Ads are NOT SEO. That's paid promotion, which is more and more going to be Google's only game.
Thank you!! Your expression and examples are easy to follow and interesting. I really appreciate the help!
My pleasure!
My heart is in the right place for my customers, but my process is all wrong.
This was very interesting and points out my many failures.
Failures. Or, you could say, "experiments" from which you're learning, changing, and getting better. ;)
Hi Mike, great video! Would you advise me to learn SEO and email marketing? I'm looking to move more into digital marketing. I’m currently working in PR (in-house). The press releases I write for the company I work for bring a lot of traffic to the website, so that’s where my interest in SEO started.
Absolutely, especially email marketing. Email has been around forever and it still works. You have a direct line with your audience/customers, which is really great.
I’ve gone back to mailing Direct Mail Postcards via the USPS. I’ve got software that I can automate, and unlimited 4x6 cards cost me $.56 each.
Nice. How's that working for you? Direct mail has a lot of potential, but it's got to be done right for it to be worth the spend.
@@MikeGastin 👍 It’s working “OK” but not near as good as it used to back in the 80s and 90s.
People have become numb to most communication.
The product definitely needs to have margin. Back in the 80s and 90s it was for promoting my Magic Show which ranged from two $200-$500 per gig. The price of postage per card was about $.20.
@@FollowMagicBrad people have been forced to become numb to the massive over-communication of our times. Maybe we need "still small voice marketing". :)
Interesting video but SEO has always been a moveable feast and the important consideration has always been to stay on top of it and adapting as best you can to the algorithm. Interesting you refer to old school marketing eg TV, Radio (still too expensive and not an option for most) and Print, which again is expensive, inefficient and very time consuming. Social Media marketing is essential because that's where people are and simultaneously builds your brand.
Google AI might be able to answer questions which is Stage 1, but Google will need Stage 2 which is the revenue from advertiser listings which leads to final Stage 3 which the user selecting the point of contact to implement the solution. eg User Stage 1 asks 'what is the best exterior paint and where can i buy it?', Stage 2 question answered with associated list of providers, Stage 3 user selects ad or organic listing.
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I agree, but as a photographer with SEO expertise. How will Google take over a photographers business? By offering it themselves?
Have you seen AI image generation?
@@MikeGastin How will ai replace lets say a wedding photographer?
You're raising an important point. When someone is searching for a specific product, like a new vinyl record, stores offering that item will still benefit from the pragmatic aspects of SEO. In these cases, where the user knows exactly what they want, SEO remains highly relevant. However, in situations where a user is simply looking for information, like finding out who sang the "SEO is dead" song, Google often provides the answer directly, bypassing the need to drive traffic to the content creator’s website or service. This shift highlights SEO's evolving role depending on the search intent.
@@reneasmussendk probably in numerous ways - but it will. That super-expensive wedding photo-shoot at sunset on the beach? Disappearing fast. AI enhancing amateur photos will also be a few levels higher in a few months. Startups are replacing business headshot photographers with apps and background image editing services (manual or automated/AI). Google is a big player there, too (see AI features in Pixel smartphones). Some will scream "but, but, the quality!!!?!". They did when we switched to digital photography, they did at Midjourney Version 2... same song. It never stopped anything, just distracted from finding solutions or pivoting.
@@SamSteinerNETSad but true!
Interesting insight. Thanks for sharing. It seems this would impact bloggers and article-related content more than small companies offering business services
Thanks. I think all kinds of businesses will feel this IF they rely on organic traffic from Google.
I luckily do local SEO, haven't seen any Gemini responses on SERPs for local SEO yet. But it's coming, no question. Never good to rely on just 1 channel. I've worked for a company that relied on FB ads and when it stopped working for them they suffered hard. At that point it was too late to catch up with organic. Great video and great advice!!
Thanks! There's a way forward for people willing to do the work.
Great Content.
We have just opened our business in the Japanese traditional crafts and your advice is gold!
Thanks!
All the best with your new venture!
great REAL presenting, great information. thank you
Thank you!
Mike Gastin's perspective on the death of SEO and the rise of AI in search is a bold statement, but it certainly aligns with the evolving digital landscape. While traditional SEO tactics still hold some weight, it's clear that focusing on building a strong brand, direct audience engagement, and diversified marketing strategies is becoming increasingly crucial. I'm eager to see how these strategies evolve and impact businesses in the coming years. Has anyone else experienced challenges adapting to this new AI-driven marketing environment?
👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼
Thanks. ;)
That's ai generated isn't it
mike is right, control your product. 2009-2014 seo was easy in my day with all that fun black/gray hat stuff... today it's very difficult. soon as the big G dominated it's "above the fold" with their own content, filler sites that are not monetized (Wikipedia, etc) and links to only big corporations for seeming easy to rank for general/national keywords - i saw the writing on the wall. even PPC is more challenging for serps as CPC is way more than it used to due to competition. CPM maybe better, but have not tested that in years.
Thanks. It's tough these days. However, there are a lot of opportunities for people and companies willing to invest time thinking it through, etc.
Any thoughts on Alli AI? It automates / implements onpage SEO.
No, not familiar with it.
This is very informative . Thank you . I’m very happy I found you!
Me too. ;)
Very constructive thanks.
Thank you
17:30 - 4 ways to take back control. Amazing video. Thank you.
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your video quality is amazing. can you share your camera/lens/lighting setup?
Hey, thanks! RE: set up. I shoot with a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K and a Sigma Art zoom (I forget the range and am not in my studio rn). I shoot BRAW and then do correction in DaVinci Resolve. I've got one larger key light with a soft box. It sits off to my left a bit, but I keep it close so the shardows aren't too dramatic. It's nothing too special. I have sound dampening blankets in front of me and some ceiling panels, however, I'm not thrilled with my room sound, yet. My mic, which you can probably guess, is a Sure SM7B. I run that through a Motu M4 (it's about three years old; newer version out now). Hope that helps.
I like this. It’s like we came full circle. Outbound ftw. Pick up the phone!
😉
Wow, Mike! This video really opened my eyes. I had no idea that Google is shifting so much power away from businesses that rely on SEO. The part about how AI can answer questions directly on the search page instead of sending people to our websites is wild! I also learned that we need to take back control and build our own audiences instead of relying on Google to send traffic our way. Plus, owning our email lists so we can talk directly to our customers is a game changer. Thanks for sharing these insights! Can't wait to follow your advice and adapt!
Thanks, Robert. Good luck with your channel!
Hi MIke, I don't like newsletters, but your content is so inspiring that I'll sign up right away! The lighting is just perfect, is that natural light or artificial and what watts and distance are the lights?
Thanks, Bruno. Artificial light, mostly. I forget the specifications-I've had it for years. It's got a nice diffuser on it and is only two or three feet from my face.
Thank you for this piece of excellence and friendliness. The relief I am feeling that I do not need to care about keywords and H1, H2 and all these crazy annoying and mind numbing SEO complications anymore. Going back to writing as I did in the early 20ies. And who wants to read will somehow be washed up at my shore. Maybe because I sent them a postcard first.
That’s great. I’d definitely think about building a funnel where you build an audience on social media, convert people to an email list, then polish out your writing to your list, either directly in the email or by sharing a link to your site. It’s a slow build but if you stick with it you’ll have a nice group of loyal readers that you can reach any time.
And let's be honest. Good, bad or ugly, It saves time. I don't have to scroll through 10 different websites and read 4 different blog articles to get the information I'm looking for, and if I want to go a little deeper, or get more information, there's 9 ways you can go from there. Using social media, different AI modules and browsers. Thank you for sharing your opinion. It's the inevitable truth. I come from a backgournd of developing websites and doing advertising and marketing since the early nineties, before you could even build your own website and do your own blog and create your own seo. Excellent video.
Thanks!
I mean... mind-blowing! the scary fact is that what you are saying is actually making a lot of sense! Question: what will happen to those of us who live in countries that google has sanctions against? I live in Iran and Gemini doesn't pop up on SERP yet, it occasionally happens if we use a VPN!
Oh! Great question. I don't have any insights, tbh.
Do you remember when getting listed on DMOZ was a big deal?
Haha! Yeah man. Those were good times.
This video gave me a lot to consider moving forward as a newbie. Having spent most of the past year trying to crack the SEO algorithm it is both a relief and a a swift kick to the bean bag, if you know what I mean. I attended some classes online and use Google search several times a day, every day and as I watched this video the lightbulb lite up. I have been overlooking this for weeks now. Kind of makes me feel a bit incompetent in many ways. I see you put this video out in early August and it is or pretty much has unfolded like you outlined, AI has taken over the top part or the results page on almost every search I make. You have gotten my undivided attention as I move forward and I am looking forward to diving into your content to see what other hidden nuggets you have uncovered that may help me attain my goals. Thanks for the great content and I look forward to more great days ahead.
Making the best guess I can. I'm not always going to be right or get everything 100%. However, it's troubling to see how this is unfolding. Like you, I'm seeing Google AI answers in 99% of my searches. All the best!
Dude, your image looks great! What camera do you own?
Excellent topic, thanks and greetings from Argentina.
Thanks! I am shooting with a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K with a Sigma Art zoom lens, (I forget the specific lens specs at the moment.)
You know, I just subscribed to you because I like what you have to say, and the fact that you're not trying to sell anything and you're just giving your honest, educated opinion, which I think is very valuable and I appreciate you. And look forward to more content from you.
Why, thank you!
Great info. Thanks for keeping me up to date
You bet
What about Google Ads? If they’re more closed aren’t they losing an important part of their business?
I don’t thinks their ads will be impacted. As long as they get traffic (people searching) they can sell ads. I bet most people will just keep using Google for search. However, a big chunk of websites will be buried because AI will provide all the answers to searchers’ questions.
What an impressive insight. Thanks for making this video❤
🙏🏼
Best video ever! I've repeated this more than 20 times
Wow-thanks!
The proper way to use AI for SEO is to use it as a multitool and not a replacement. My written-content takes LONGER to create now with AI than it did before without it, but it's razor-sharp focused on the target audience now, exploits market gaps more accurately, and results in copy thats so much more well written by me, with the ASSISTANCE of AI.
Interesting.
Thanks for the video! Loved it very much!
👍🏼
Everything is clear. Brief and clear. No water. Thank you)
Thanks. What is meant by "water" in this context? I am clueless.
Darn, I was just about to quit my job and go all in on SEO
I bet you were. ;)
Great video, potentially saving website owners a lot of time, not overly chasing Google SEO. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Really clever explanation and no unnecessary verbiage! Respect! + subscription
Thanks!
Wow. Great video! Learned a lot. Thank you!
Cool-thank you, too.
Appreciate the non-fluff straightforward approach. Was a great review for me. Thank you!
Pleasure-thank you, too.
SEO won't die, it's just renamed to SEO for LLM.
Maybe ... I agree. It won't die. But it is changing more that its name.
I'm not quite as gloomy on the AI vs SEO front. There are some hard limits to the very core of how LLM AI works that cannot be fixed by a version upgrade. Google has found this itself already, hence the major pullback from suggesting people eat a rock a day at the top of their SERPs, but I 1,000% agree that now more than ever, it is important to diversify your diutal marketing and learn to get traffic sources from outside the Google ecosystem.
Doesn't change the fact that this is an excellent video, and it just earned itself a new subscriber.
Thanks! Yes, diversification is key. ;)
17:51 - What to do
Thank you mike i need this, this is the first time i watch your video.. and i love the content and the way you telling story
Thank you, too!
So I’m just looking for some information. I have paid a web designer to design a website. It has the SEO search optimisation. So the problem is I’m doing Paving concreting and landscaping for an example. My Paving suburbs are Christies Beach. If I type in Paving Christies Beach we are number one on the first page but if I’m located in Christies Beach which I am type in Paving near me we don’t show. I guess I just want to know why we’re not getting the surrounding suburbs.
Let’s hear from you, SEO experts. Help Dale out.
Would you say seo is still worth learning as a beginner marketer
100%. The fact is, although our current way of doing it is “dying” SEO will live on in new and exciting ways. Just make sure you’re learning other aspects of marketing while you’re at it. ;)
Crisp, smart way of explaining, necessary and sufficient information. That was helpful. Thank you.
Thank you!
Excellent content. Love everything about delivery. Thank you for sharing your decades of experience. I did think that AI does need us because AI is trained on our content and future content.
Thanks, Nathan. I appreciate your kind words.
You are right, the future of online marketing is social media
Well, I'm not sure that was my point, but okay. Social Media is one part of the puzzle.
A good lecture that will benefit all who have followed this excellent explanation.
Thank you.
What a great video. And yes I agree, the writing is on the wall. A.I is eating our lunch.
Thanks!
Mike, good advice and I agree with what you are saying with email still carries the issue of Google deciding who sees your content.
Promotions tab? Spam folder? Deliverability? Etc
I'm kinda thinking snail mail and phone will become prime assets once again. If not for all them at least your top 20% of customers.
Great point about email, especially since GMail is the standard.
Very good video. I was obsessed about SEO and AI but you changed my mind!!! Google doesn't need use anymore. I would love your thoughts about affiliate marketing if it also dead or not?
I'm not too sure about affiliate. I suspect that will be around for a while longer because as long as you have an audience there will be other companies that will want access to your audience and will be happy to share some profit with you. And, even though SEO is going to drastically change, don't totally give up on it yet. It remains to be seen how all these changes roll out and affect us. Just don't put all your eggs in the Google SEO basket and you'll be fine. ;)
Clear and understandable, I wish there was more information like this.
Thanks-glad it helped.
Do any of the websites recover that have been hit by the algorithm after you make changes?
Anyone care to share results?
Thank you. I am very new to this. What about something like recipes? When I search it now, it still just shows many bloggers recipes. Can AI take over?
Great question! The recipe space is so crowded with food sites. And, they all bombard you with too many ads, pop ups, etc. It's miserable. I don't know where Google will take that. I can see users inputting their ingredients and AI giving them options of dishes they can make. If I was doing a food biz, I'd rather go to TH-cam and make vids on recipes, food prep, and so on. Much better place to build that kind of audience.
Thank you for explaining everything so clearly. Everything is very clear. Like for the explanation.
My pleasure.
Thank you.
No, you. ;)
Good presentation, many thanks
Thank you, too.
I have a question, Mike!❓You mentioned that AI won't need us, bloggers and creators, anymore. That Ai can answer all questions by scrapping content, and give it to users. But what will happen with LLM systems, when there wouldn't be anyone who producing the content? What will happen when blogging industry will be destroyed and not being updated? When they start to learn their AIs on low-quality and old content?
If Google is killing the industry, from where they will be getting all the information (content) to feed their AI during learning? What will happen when they will get a bunch of low quality articles from Torbes, Medit, or IndiaTimes or else to feed their AI? Won't the LLMs degradate after some time?
I appreciate your question. I wonder, similarly, what happens when the LLMs are learning from their own content. None of this is 100% clear and I don't assume that I'm even close to 100% correct in my vid. I think I am spot on with the trend that I call out. The real question is, to what degree will this all play out? Fully or not much?
I would guess that AI will have more and more hallucinations where it creates new content based on it's own content and it get's less and less accurate. I'm sure there will be safeguards put in place to help with this but it might be hard to get it under control when that happens too much.
@@MikeGastin Google now has enough sites for each niche in the world. Since its inception, Google has classified sites using community-driven portals like the earlier DMOZ directory, then Wikipedia, etc. Recently, Google partnered with Reddit. So, Google gets first-hand information from the Internet and real-users. That's how it builds its database. Same thing for SearchGPT; they began partnering with leading publishers (for testing purposes). This is how they develop their LLM and try to provide them accurate and updated information. Definitely, users are obsessed with Google-sponsored ads when they are trying to search for simple answers. Google gets millions of queries each day which never been found earlier. For those queries, Google has now started Semantic Search results, so when a matching keyword is not found in the database, it returns the results based on the Context.
Thank you so much for this incredibly informative video on SEO! Your explanations were clear, concise, and packed with valuable insights. I've learned a lot, and I can't wait to apply these strategies to improve my website's visibility. Keep up the fantastic work-your content is making a real difference!
Wow, thank you. :) And all the best!
i suspect google will keep a facade of business partnership, just such that their reputation will be maintained. or will they even bother?
I agree. They will always make it seem like everything they do is good for us, lol.
Gemini's answer at the top of search will reduce scrolling, which means less people will see Google ads. How is Google reconciling or justifying this loss in revenue by integrating AI?
I think you'll see the SERP real estate/UI change to accommodate more ads and organic results will get buried.
So I’m just looking for some information. I have paid a web designer to design a website. It has the SEO search optimisation. So the problem is I’m doing Paving concreting and landscaping for an example. My Paving suburbs are Christies Beach. If I type in Paving Christies Beach we are number one on the first page but if I’m located in Christies Beach which I am type in Paving near me we don’t show.
Any experts here who can help?
If you post these types of questions on online forums you will get mid-level answers from SEO's that hyperfocus on one aspect. Mine would be, "you need location service pages covering content on surrounding suburbs." Without being in your project itself, its a bit of a guess what the issue is, could be a myriad of the ways you set up your GBP, Search Console, or simply your competitors have a wayyyy better presence on the subject on their site. Last, googing yourself is nice when you get a positive result, but doesn't mean anything. Google regularly split tests results to see what people like better (click, time to return to the same search and bounce back, etc). You need to be looking at stats for rankings from Search Console and maybe some third party SEO tools. OR, have an SEO work on it
what about adwords? Is it still going to be effective?
I believe so. In fact, Google killing organic search is part of a play to push more AdWords sales. They’re making it more pay to play.
how is this going to effect the service industry? like home improvement and other serivces that need seo to get clients?
Not 100% sure, tbh.
They'll be ok and even do well if they focus on marketing and advertising for local business. Make sure your local Google listing is up to date. Collab with related but non-competing businesses. Like if you're in cabinetry, link up with local interior decorators and designers. Or home stores. Be consistent with your newsletters. Word of mouth is great for the service industries. SEO will still work for people who know what they want and search for it. Stay consistent on your social posts, blogs on your website, etc, so you turn up in the searches as relevant.
Local search is still good. All in all dont put your eggs in one basket. I still see strong results with SEO optimised content that matches intent. Running a paid ad funnnel to supplement the baseline SEO is necessary. Will be interesting to see where we're at in 5-10 years time
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As long as there are search engines, content will have to be "optimized" to best fit the way the SE satisfies the users query. Hence SEO will never die.
Don't agree, but that's okay. SEO become irrelevant when AI can provide most answers. We don't go to search engines to find websites anymore. We go to get answers. Google is finding new ways via AI to provide answers.
@@MikeGastin I guess AI is plucking info right out of thin air. If I ask Chat>>> to tell me where the best tacos are near me, it's going to list off taco places based on reviews that have been compiled on various sites. If I ask for the menu, its going to send me to that places website. AI will constantly have to hoover up information and make decisions about its authenticity and it's value vs the prompt. That "hoovering" will be determined by SEO.
Extrêmement intéressant et utile
Thanks!
Thinking of applying for a SEO copywriting job. Should I still go through with it? Or is there a possibility that the company will close?
Go for it. Great experience and to be fair, there will always be people that figure out how to work around the changes. You can be one of them!
Excellent informative video. Thanks so much Mike. I've just signed up for your newsletter.
Awesome! Welcome aboard. 👍🏼
Interesting, i would like to learn more.
What are your thoughts on the implications for local search and the new google business practices
It seems from what I am hearing that local search is still doing fine. To be honest, I don't have much insight into local and Google's new business practices. Can you share anything?
loved the way you explained the upcoming issues we are gonna face with AI's in future.! Thank you !
My pleasure!
How will the AI search engine affect retailers? I know services are in trouble but what about retailers.
Great question. Am wondering what some of the other folks think about that.
Great video Mike. But aren’t we taking it to extreme? I mean if I’m a startup company how can the AI write about the company? The chicken and the egg scenario. Besides many people like to see a variety of options presented in the serps the same way when you go to restaurant. Also some industries I don’t want an AI provide me the answer for example medical and legal advice etc. Lastly, AI relies on already existing information. If humans stop researching and writing then how can the AI provide the up to date answers. What is your opinion on this?
Thanks. To your question(s), yes, I'm taking it to an extreme. And, AI writing about your startup-well that question has an embedded assumption: that anyone cares about your startup or that Google cares to promote it. My argument isn't that you won't be allowed to write about your start up. You can and will continue to. And, no one will stop you from publishing to your website about your start up. (Unless you fall afoul of the state, an increasingly difficult issue that needs to be address if we are to enjoy free speech.) But the big issue for my argument is that even if you write about it, NO ONE will ever see your post. Even if someone does a search on your company, AI will pull what it wants to construct its own answer and the link to your site will likely be buried. Lastly, if you tell your employee to do a write up on your start up, it's likely that he or she will turn to AI to help write the piece. So, in the end you have a sort of hybrid piece of content generated by AI, edited and published by a human. Not sure the impact of that that over time, but I can guarantee that your write up will be so uninteresting and vanilla that it won't cut through the noise and gain you much in the way of attention. Just my opinion, of course. ;)
Thanks
No problem
Mike Gastin, great video my guy
Thank you! 🙏🏼
You explain it very well!
Thanks!
Static website content is not needed anymore for generic and general information.
Think of it like this: Websites are the yellow phonebook pages that became 100% obsolete when the internet was born.
Do you want to keep printing them? Good luck.
So, what's next? Just AI results? If so, good luck. I agree, btw, with your analogy. Justy wondering what you think businesses should be doing about it. ;)
With some claiming SEO is dead in 2024, it’s crucial to adapt by focusing on evolving strategies like AI-driven optimization and user-centric content.
I agree with the need for user-centric content.
User centric content (my foot - by Google)
In my niche backlinks are ranking buddy. They barely have 200 words of content. Even not the original one. Websites are ranking which redirects to dating sites. Urls are ranking show 404 when opened.
It's a pleasure to watch.
Thanks!
Also, what about platforms that are related to google, like youtube?
People still use AI for every info for TH-cam they need to roam around n research but AI give ans in 0 second
And what about the pages that offer physical products that people need to buy? AI can't give that to them.
Maybe not. However, if you look at the way Google is treating its SERP. I can see product sellers being put in a position to pay-to-play if they want their product showing up at the top, or as part of Google's "store" results. Maybe AI isn't an issue in your scenario, but I still think Google is putting a nail in the organic coffin. But, that's just my take. I'm often wrong. ;)
Starts at 17:50
At least I start, Alex.
@@MikeGastin You did, thank you! I'm still learning the patience thing. :)